Recently, I joined an online community called "Grace In Small Things." I stumbled upon this community from a friend's blog and was curious when I saw all these lists that had things like "the sunset, hearing my dad laugh, and some various other things." When I asked her about it, she said she had joined a community that strives on bringing out the positive things in life instead of the negative, which seems to be the more popular choice in these times.

I got to thinking about this and quickly realized how much perspective we lose when we get older. Sure, we gain persepective in some areas, but we lose the most important thing: Gratitude for the small things in life.

When we are younger, we tend to appreciate things more than when we get my age and my parents age because we are new to the world and have so much to take in. Then, when we get into retirement age, we are able to slow down once again and appreciate the small things because we realize how short our time here really is and how much there is to see. And, unfortunately for the loved ones, but some people are made aware of how big the world is and how much it has to offer when they are told they only have a few months left to enjoy it.

I can't tell you how grateful I am to be able to be around kids all the time. After all, they help me keep my "young" perspective on life and nothing is out of the realm of possibilities. When you are that little, you think that you can do anything. You can be the President, an NFL star, and a lawyer and still be home for dinner at that age. Stars are amazing and watching the clouds roll by can provide entertainment for hours. Lightning bugs were meant to be caught and then let go and competitions on who could catch the most were always on. Supper came when your mom called you and your dad inside to wash up or else, because you ate as a family. Boys and girls were strictly friends and beyond that had cooties. Some of the best Saturday cartoons came on and you were always up to watch them, clad in your Bama pjs with coco puffs in hand. Nothing was little. Everything was big. Everything meant the world to you.

This was a time when friends were your friends to their face and behind their back. You wouldn't dare think of being nice to someone's face and then turning around and being mean to them. If someone punched your best friend, you can bet that he'd have a crowd around him, waiting to get revenge. Nights were shared with slumber parties and movie nights. Gameboy rocked and then got even better when it came out in color. Family television was really a time the family could sit down, watch a movie, and not be worried about who's sleeping with who in the newest show. Anxious to give a hug to anyone and never missing a beat when your parents wanted a kiss. $1 was like $50 and you couldn't believe your fortune. Weekends at the grandparents house were so much fun, because well, let's face it, they just can't say no. A time when little things were big things.

So much of the time when we get older, we lose sight of the things that used to be important to us because we are in such a hurry to get to the next appointment or get to the television faster. We don't take time to focus on the stars at night or even to recognize that there are stars in the sky. Instead, we are focused on what the kids need for lunch tomorrow or what homework we haven't done. We would rather focus on the fact that we didn't get that promised raise instead of focusing on our loved one's laughter and the ability for us to make them laugh.

So, my challenge to everyone is to find 5 things everyday that you are grateful for. Small or big things. And, you do this for a while year. I am going to take this challenge on as well and start a seperate blog specifically for this purpose. I encourage you to do the same thing, and keep track of other's and encourage others you know that are doing this as well. And why not start today?

I hope everyone sees the small things in life today, and every other day.

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"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together."
— Marilyn Monroe